ECHO
Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO) is a non-profit agro-ecological organization supporting small-scale farmers through the dissemination of information and seeds. ECHO's mission is to "empower small-scale farmers to increase the yield and nutritional diversity of their crops."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>They operate a seed bank containing many species of rare, yet valuable food crops which "increases system sustainability, offers new economic opportunities for local farmers and increases distribution of high quality, locally adapted seeds to other farmers and development workers"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>. ECHO also offers training courses and workshops on many topics, such as tropical agriculture.
Contents
Headquarters and Global Farm
ECHO is headquartered in North Fort Myers, Florida. Their campus includes the "Global Farm and Research Center" a demonstration and research farm, a reference library with a variety of resources on rare agricultural crops and techniques, a seed bank, a tropical fruit nursery with, among other things, one of the largest collections of bamboo varieties in North America, and a bookstore. The global farm also includes an appropriate technology center developing tools and equipment for small scale farmers. Various parts of the farm demonstrate agriculture in different conditions including highlands, lowlands, semi-arid and a demonstration of the techniques of urban agriculture that have been implemented around the world.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Regional Impact Centers
ECHO operates four Regional Impact Centers, around the world to bring agricultural resources to the small-scale farmers that need them. Regional Impact Centers are located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Arusha, Tanzania, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a long-term research project in soil science based near Modimolle, South Africa.
Seed distribution
ECHO maintains a large collection of useful tropical trees and other plants and provides seed, free of charge, to groups and farmers who request them, with the hope that "growers will plant those seeds, collect and save them from the crops they grow, and share them with their community."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
ECHO was one of the key organizations in the dissemination of seeds and information on Moringa, a key nutritional plant species useful for providing essential vitamins and minerals for people in developing countries in the tropics.
Technical Notes
ECHO publishes a variety of technical notes that cover a variety of topics related to appropriate technology, agroecology and agroforestry.
